Sixty Seconds
by Autumn Win-Dow
Summary: Nonoko had a strange habit. Every hour, she would walk over to the light switch, turn off the lights for exactly one minute, then flick it back on - as she paid her undivided attention to the piano. Anna-centric.


_**Sixty Seconds**_

**by Autumn Win-Dow**

(AoGA House Cup. Words: 2208)

* * *

Nonoko had a very bad habit, which resulted in her soaring electricity bill.

It was a habit that not even her best friend Anna could understand clearly, even when she visited the chemist's home regularly. It was something that Anna couldn't exactly explain, due to its complete spontaneity, and whenever she asked about it, Nonoko would tell her honestly what she was doing.

Nonetheless, after many visits to Nonoko's mysterious house, every single person would leave none the wiser despite the dark haired female's genuine honesty.

Nonoko's house closely resembled a haunted mansion. The stairways were styled with antique decoration, cobwebs delicately hung from the ceiling, and the floorboards creaked with every step. The air smelt like ash and coal, and dust mites wafted in the atmosphere. Even the quietest murmur would send a clear echo rebounding from the murky walls.

The only uses of electricity were the lights of the chandelier and the stove in the kitchen. Whenever Anna entered the house, she would always admire the chandelier first. It was a monstrous structure – stretching over a majority of the space near the ceiling, and the hundreds of crystals which hung from its metal were tainted with a slight yellow glow, due to age. It was the very object in the house which gave it its light, and gave the interior of the house a majestic appearance.

However, Anna's admiration would only last for a short while – she would later pay attention to Nonoko who would make her way towards the light switch, turn the light off for one minute, and turn it back on.

That was Nonoko's habit.

Every hour that passed as she talked to Anna, she would leave her seat and head towards the switch, once again.

Off, one minute wait, on.

Anna wondered if there was some sort of flaw in the functioning of the chandelier, for it to be needed to be turned on every hour. She also noticed the fact that sometimes, Nonoko would be distracted during their conversation. Usually, her focus was diverted over to the piano, as if she was looking for someone, but when Anna followed her gaze, there was absolutely nothing abnormal that she could see.

"Nonoko…" Anna trailed one day, while she was enjoying the Earl Grey tea which she had brought for Nonoko upon her visit, "Why do you keep looking at the piano…?"

"Have you heard of the Minute Waltz by Chopin?" Nonoko excitedly asked her, while grabbing hold of Anna's hands.

As a girl who was never really interested in music, she found the name completely foreign to her home economics-centric mindset. "Cho… what?"

"Chopin. One of the greatest composers of all time!" Nonoko rejoiced before darting off quickly towards the piano.

Anna hadn't actually known – despite being best friends with her – that Nonoko had quite a fondness for music other than artists such as Reo Mori. So the thought of her playing the piano was, like Chopin's name – a strange thing to consider.

However, Anna was quickly reassured that she _did_ know her best friend well, as Nonoko had only sped off towards the piano and back in order to retrieve some sheet music.

"Do you actually enjoy musical compositions, Nonoko?" Anna asked in case, "Because I've never seen you touch a musical instrument in my lifetime."

"I only started enjoying classical music eight months ago," The dark haired female reassured as she sat herself next to her friend, "And I can't play the piano, either. I just listen to it."

Anna scanned the room for the umpteenth time that day. Besides the chandelier and the stove, there were no sources of electricity in the house for Nonoko to possibly use to listen to classical music, and she was well aware that she wasn't in possession of a phone, either.

"How do you listen to it, though?"

Nothing made sense. She found it strange that Nonoko had a piano in her scary house even though she didn't know how to play – and not to mention sheet music – and the house was almost void of electricity. Also, her strange habit of turning the light off for one exact minute was definitely not normal. Anna could recall that the habit had started eight months ago.

"_I only started enjoying classical music eight months ago."_

Nonoko replied to her question with the same positivity she had spoken with for the whole conversation. "The music plays when I turn off the light."

_Minute Waltz… it's a minute long. Does that mean…!_

Anna rose from her seat and shook her friend's shoulders. "This isn't normal! Music can't just play when you turn off the light for one minute! T-That's impossible! This habit of yours is…! Please don't lie about something this scary!"

The chemist looked up at her best friend, with an expression of unknowing and surprise at the sudden outburst, before murmuring a reply. "But it does, Anna. I'm not lying! He plays Chopin's Minute Waltz every hour!"

The pink haired female paused at the key word, and stared at Nonoko in disbelief. "…He? Who's 'he'?"

"Yuu."

Anna sputtered at the statement. "…me? But I'm a woman… and I'm not the one playing the piano!"

"No, not you, Yuu!" Nonoko bent forward and drew the kanji with her finger in the dust on the table, before pointing at it. "Yuu."

Anna's breath hitched at the sight of the kanji on the table. She wasn't sure if she was able to believe Nonoko on what she had told her.

_That's impossible… it can't be Yuu…! I mean-_

"He died eight months ago, Nonoko! That's impossible!" She gasped, as she hastily stood up and scoured the room for anybody but her and Nonoko.

"I know! But I still see him!" Her friend shrieked back, before looking at her watch and panicking. "See, it's almost time! I'll show you, Anna!"

"But Nonoko-"

Her arguments were not paid attention to, as the dark haired woman quickly returned the sheet music to the piano, and then ran back in order to drag Anna towards the light switch. Anna struggled in Nonoko's determined hold.

"What are you doing, Nonoko?"

"I need to show you, Anna! Otherwise you won't believe me!"

"It's not that! I need to show you this, even if you did believe me!"

"Why?!"

Nonoko let go of Anna's arm as soon as they reached the light switch. "It's-" She paused in her speech as unexpectedly, her mouth curves into a blissful smile. "It's beautiful."

Anna calmed down at the sight of her best friend actually feeling happy because of 'Yuu' and his presence in her home, and finally gave up in struggling as the chemist simultaneously kept her eyes on her watch and her finger on the switch.

The minute hands finally struck eight, which sent chills down Anna's spine because of the coincidence that it had also been eight months since all of Nonoko's strange actions started, and since Yuu was killed.

It was now 4:40 p.m.

And Anna saw nothing.

"See, Anna!" Nonoko excitedly rejoiced, pointing at the empty seat of the piano. You see him, right?"

"She didn't want to break her best friend's heart by proving her hopes wrong, but she didn't want to lie to her, either. "No, Nonoko. I don't."

"Wait," Her still determined friend darted forward and grabbed her hand, "Do you see him now?!"

"…No. I still don't." Anna muttered in remorse.

It was now 4:41 p.m.

The lights switched back off, and Nonoko's hand falls limp from the switch. She fell silent for a moment, before warm tears started to spill from her eyes. Anna, of whom was also distraught by the sight of her friend in despair, pulled her in for a comforting hug.

While Nonoko wailed at the fact that Anna couldn't see him, the pink haired lady couldn't help but tear up as well.

* * *

Anna quietly unlocked the door to Sumire's apartment complex. She had accepted Sumire's plea as a caretaker for her Siamese cat while she was out of the city for a convention.

As soon as she entered, a slim, grey cat approached and circled Anna's jean-covered legs. Even though she wasn't like Ruka – of whom animals were basically destined to love – she hadn't encountered an animal which treated her with disdain for ferocity.

She wondered if the reason was something to do with the fact that she often smelled like cookies.

Anna felt her phone buzz in her pocket, notifying her that the battery had run flat.

_I didn't bring my charger… oh well. It's only for a night._

After bending down to pat the cat – Roger, she recalled his name as – she remembered that Sumire was also a musician, as she saw the ebony piano in the corner of the room. The state which Nonoko was in after she tried to show Anna the Minute Waltz being mysteriously playing on the piano replayed in the chef's mind.

The pink haired lady sighed as she stood up and turned away from the piano, raising her hand to flick the light switch on.

Before she was able to move a finger, however, she heard the light sounds of a piano resonate from behind her.

Now that she listened to the song, she found the tune and the melody familiar.

_This… is the Minute Waltz._

Anna spun on her heel to see a very familiar person seated on the seat in front of the piano, as his fingers flitted along the ivory keys.

She was astounded at the sight of Yuu – glasses, short hair and all – as he played the piano with an expression of contentment, and even a slight hint of amusement at her gobsmacked reaction.

Ignoring the tickly feeling of Roger's fur against her leg, she cautiously made her way forward, tilting her head as she analysed Yuu.

She could easily see through him – he was an apparition, of whom somehow had entered Sumire's apartment as well as Nonoko's house.

"Y-Yuu?!" Anna breathed as she was a metre away from him.

As he continued to play the quick notes in succession, he looked up at her and grinned boyishly.

"Long time no see, Anna." He murmured before his fingers slowed, and the notes eventually ceased.

She saw that he hadn't changed since when he was still alive. It was something heartbreaking for her to admit, but she knew that it was true.

As he rested his hands on his lap, he asked her an out-of-the-blue question. "Did you know that the Minute Waltz by Chopin isn't actually a minute long? It barely scrapes in its ending before the two minute mark."

"…and?" Anna felt dazed, and it was the only reply she could muster.

"Each day, I'm allowed to use two minutes of time for one hourly interval. I've allotted the time for now."

Anna couldn't comprehend what he was saying, and blurted out the question which was ingrained in her mind ever since she had heard the piano's sonorous notes. "What are you doing here?"

Yuu chuckled. "You didn't see me when I was playing this piece in Nonoko's house. She was pretty upset at me for not appearing in front of you, so I decided to come here."

"So… did you hide from me on purpose?"

"No, Anna!" It was his turn to panic, as he waved his hands in front of him in denial. "Of course not! It's just that… your phone was on."

"But wait, my phone's still-"Anna halted in her speech as she pulled out her phone.

…_Oh._

"It's out of battery…" She whispered, stunned by the strange coincidence in front of her.

Yuu nodded in confirmation as he continued. "That's why Nonoko always sees me. She doesn't have a phone. I don't know why, but the presence of electricity prevents me from appearing in front of people every hour. Nonoko's stove is never on, and she turns the light off for me, so usually, it's quite easy for me to appear."

Anna diverted her attention away from her phone, back to his face, then back to her phone again.

"…Why could Nonoko see you then? If my phone was on, then why was the still able to see you?"

The ghost in white's expression turned thoughtful, as he exhaled. "That's something which we probably won't find out any time soon."

Yuu glanced at his watch and groans, "Time's almost up. I have to go."

"Already?" Anna asks, as she bent down and picked up Roger – of whom was licking her shoe.

"The time limit's over," Yuu explained, as he turned back to the piano and starts playing an etude, "Could you possibly turn the light on?"

The chef walked towards the switch light, and as she places a finger on it, she turns back and grins at the ghost pianist.

"Thank you for coming. It was nice to see you again."

"You too. And talk to Nonoko soon, okay?"

"No problem." She raised her other hand to make a thumbs up signal, before flicking the light switch.

And from that point on, the piano seat was empty.

* * *

A/N: This fic came to be from the binary opposition of on/off. So as an interpretation of the light switch, I made this.

You should listen to the Minute Waltz - also known as Petit Chien. It's truly a wonderful composition.


End file.
